Cigarette-making machine



S Sheets-Sheet i TTORNEYS mmmrm F Q 4 W 2 m m 30 mm 6mm i Sept. 7, 1943. J. v. REID ETAL CIGARETTE-MAKING MACHINE Filed March 5, 1942 m .vn YM mm a:

S p 1943- J. v. REID ETAL CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINE Filed March 5, 1942 3 Sheets-Shee t 2 iNWiNTORS JOSEPH v RElD PAuLRi HER BY m myn f5 ATTORNE Sept; 7, 1943; J. v. REID El'AL CIGARETTE-MAKING MACHINE s Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 5, 1942 ZZA/AV/Z WMZZIMW ATT R N BY PAUL RICHEFL INVENTOBS JOSEPHVREID \illllllJ Patented Sept. 7, 1943 UNITED STATES 7 OFFICE 2,329,163" I x 1 mmimmmemmm J oseph V. Reid and Paul Richer; Montreal, Queb'ec, Canada, assigncrs to Genin Trudeau & Cie I 'Ltee, Montrejal, Quebec, Canada a Y Application Mach. 5, 1942, Serial Ara-433,502 r 7 Claims. (01. innit) This invention relates to improvements in hand operated cigarette-making machined-and the principal object is to provide a; simple, rugged and'comparatively inexpensive machine by means of which well formed cigarettes may be produced rapidly and without the exercise of any particular skill on'the'p'art'of the operator.

- Other objects, advantages and 'characteristit': features of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in con naction with-the accompanying drawings; in

which-- I p i i I Fig. '1 is a top plan'view of our improvedmachine as it" appears with the movable carriage in its startingjpositionand with theto'bacco mold ing members of the carriage separated to receive acharge of tobacco therebetween'. I

r Fig. 2 'is a top plan View of the machine as it appears after the molding members have been brought together to press a charge oftobacco' therebetween, the carriage being shown in its starting position- Fig. 3 is a top plan view of assembly on which the carriage is slidablyv mounted.

the achine as it. appears after the carriage has beenmoved to the and lower fixed plates 3 and 19, the platef' l8 bemg spaced below the top wall l0 and theplate 19 being spaced :below plate l8. wall In is provided with a longitudinallyextending slot 20 which constitutes the filling opening of a tobacco molding chamber zL-the end walls of which are provided-with openings 2 2"a'nd23. The bottomwall of chamber 2| is forme'd' by aslidable plate- 24 (Fig; 9) which rests on and is slidable laterally across the previously mentioned fixedpl'ate [8. Plate 24 carries a'movable r'nold'j- I ing member 25 whichforms-Ia movable'side wall of'the molding chamber it. Member"25 'is here shown as a metal bar which is fastened'to" plate 24 by screws 25a and is provided, at its innerside, with a lengthwise extending gsemi-circular cav ity"-26,-"sa'id cavity being formed soss-topravige member 25" with a'-'c1 1tting edge 251). which is adapted to'coo'peratewith' a cutting edge 29d provided along one side of the slot or iillingopening 20. "With the Carriagei in the positionlshown. in Fig. I theiopposite sidetwallof,moldingchainF ber"2l islformed'by afstationary molding member 21 is semi-circular in cross section and is arranged with its concave side opposed tofthe semi-circular cavity 26-;of the'movable' molding r Fig. '1 is a side elevation of the a sem ly hown I inFig.6.'

Fig. 8 is a side elevation or the machine as it appears with one of the side'plates removed j Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view taken along the lihe 9-9 of Fig.1. j

Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line Ill-40 of Fig. 2 1

Referring moreparticularly to the drawings, 5

designates a carriage slidably mounted on a fiat horizontal guide plate 6, the ends of said plate being fastened by screws 1 to supportsB and 8a risingirorn the end podtions of a ,base9. I

fcarriage'iincludes a top wall l0, and walls H and Hand removable. side walls Hand I4. The,

end walls H and i2 are preferably integral'with I the topwan l 0 and are provided, near'their lower horizontal edges, with guide. slots, Ha and, 12a through which guide plate 6' extends, the upper horizontal edges of said slots being recessed as indicated at Nb and I2b. The sidewalls l3 and M are each provided with inwardly. directed lugs l5 which fit between the end walls H and I2 and are removably secured thereto by screws [6. The

end walls H and i2 arejoined'togetherby upper member-15*. Member l'llextends through theend openings 22 and'itof moldingjcharnber 2! when carriage 51s in the starting, position shown. in

Figlel. A tubular portion 21a, provided at the le'f t hand end'of member 21,- is tightly secured around the free end of'a cylindricalrod orpjlung 'er 30 which extends aboveand in parallel relaopposite end of said rod or plunger being directed downwardly through an opening, 6a in plate 6 an! intoa socket Sbprovided in the support 8. j

I'helslidablpht'e 24 is wider than its support ing plate l8 and'is connected by a link 32 to the shortarm 33Ioi'a bell crank operating lever 3.4 which is. pivoted to the carriage 5 asat 35; .The v long arm. 3450f operating "lever 34 works inj a slot 36 provided inside wall l4. A tubular neck extension 38 is secured tov the end wall not the carriage in line with the front end openi'ng 23 of the molding chamber Zl. This neck extension is bevelled atits free end as shownfin Fig.1 and is provided',j.a t one side, with a full length slot 3800.. This neck extension is adapted to fit freely inside one end of a standard cigarette tube X.

During part of the travelling movement of the carriage 5 the paper cigarettef tube X isclamped to the 'neck extension 38 'by means of-a pivotally mounted cam actuated clamp lever 49. {This lever 40 comprises a U -shaped stripof metal which is The topcarriage I pivoted to the front end wall l2 of the carriage by means of bushing 52 and pivot screw 4|. A clamping shoe 43, preferably made of rubber or some other soft resilient material, is secured in place betweenthe side portions of the lever 40 adjacent the free end of the lever and is adapted to be pressed against the neck extension encircling end of the cigarette paper tube X when the free end of the lever is swung upwardly by engagementof the lever with a cam plate 44 which is supported on and extends longitudinally of the guide plate 6, said cam plate 44 being .provided with inclined end portions 45a and 45b and being of uniform height between said inclined end por- $1, 1 against .the portion of the cigarette tube which is tions.

The pivotal connection between the slidable plate 24 and link 32 comprises a pivot screw 46,

the shank of which is passed through the link I opening 32a and through a threaded opening in plate 24. Washers 41 are interposed between .the

head 46a of screw 45 and the lower side of "link 32 and a bushing 48 is interposed between the upp r. side of link 32 andthe lower side of plate 24. The head'46a of screw 45 cooperates, as hereinafter described, with a locking bar49. which is arranged on and extends longitudinally of the guide plate 5, it being noted that the-locking bar 49 and the'previously mentioned camplate 44 are arranged so that, they pass through-the recesses .IIb and 12b of the carriage guideslots Ila and Ho during movement of thecarriage along the guide plateB. Y 1

V The link 32 is connected to the short arm 33 of bell crank lever 34 by a suitable pivot screw connection 50. lever and carriage-.5 comprises a pivotscrew 5| which is passed, upwardly through an opening inplate I9--and-is screwed into a threaded opening in plate 8. The portion of the screw 5| lying i between the-plates l8 and i9 is-surrounded by a bushing '52 which is fitted in' an opening pro"- vided in lever 34 and serves as apivot bearing for said lever. .A longitudinallyextending angle. iron 55 is secured to the lower side of the top wall I of the carriage so that said angle ire-n forms a fixed side wall of the molding chamber 2] which liesat the side 'cf the filling opening '20 remote from the removable molding member 25. A slight clearance is left between the angle iron or wall'55 and the upper surface of plate l8 to-p r o vide for the passage of slide plate 24. This angle ironv acts as a back support for molding member I l-and prevents damageto said member if excesstobacco is compressedinto chamber 2|.

The machine described herein is used in the following manner: The carriage 5 is initially positioned as shown in Fig.1 with themovable molding member 25 in a retracted position in relation to the fixedmolding member 21. It will be noted that, in this position of the parts, the head of the pivot screw 45 is positioned against the front end of the locking bar 49 (Fig. 9) and therefore serves as astop which'prevents the carriage being moved to the left while the molding members are in their separated relation. A charge of loosetobaccois evenly distributed into the molding chamber 2| through the filling ope ing 26 and a cigarette tube X is fitted onto the neck extension 38. The long arm oflever 34 is then swung from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig. 2 to efiect movement of the slide plate 24 and the movable molding member 25 to the positions shown in Figs. 2 and 10. moved against the stationary member 21 to com- The pivotal connection 35 between The'moVable molding member 25 is thus press the interposed charge of tobacco into a solid cylindrical mass (Fig. the surplus tobacco being sheared off by the cutting edges a and 251) as the movable molding member 5 travels across and closes the filling opening 20.

With the parts in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 10 it will be noted that the head 46a of screw 46 has been shifted'to one lside of locking bar "l9 so that th carriage 5 is now free to be moved from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 3. mences this movement the clamp lever 48 rides up the inclined front end a of the cam plate 44 and causes the shoe 43 to be pressed tightly fitted onthe neck extension 38. This clamps the cigarette tube on the neck extension 33 so that the tubeis drawn over the cylinder of tobacco which is held against longitudinal movement by theiright hand end 36a ,of the plungerSfl. y 'Ihe'carriage 5 maybe moved tothe left until it strikes the support 8"bu,t before the carriage reaches this position the clamp lever 49 reaches the rear inclined .end 45b of the cam track 44 and drops down torelease theclamping-pressure on the cigarette tube X. At this exactpoint in, the'cycle of operations the friction between the tobacco and the inner wall ,of the cigarette tube holds the unclamped tube from anyfurther movement with the consequentresult-that the neck extension is pulled clear from between the tobacco charge and innerwall or the paper -tube. This extrusion and stripping action-iscomplete when the carriage '5 has been -moved'until it strikes the support 8. The second-vhalf ofthe operating cycle is used to obtain two results: 1) to strip off the: completedeigarette; from semicircular member 2'l, this being accomplished when the right hand end-o f extension 38 engages the free mass of tobaccowhich extends from the inner end of the paper tube. To provide thisthe cylinder of tobacco was designed nearly /4 longer than the tube; and '(2) to return the carriage 5 to original'position for refilling so that the two-way cycle .may be repeated; When the carriage 5 is in the positionshown in Figs 3 and ill, the headABa of the screw 46 is engaged with one side of the locking bar 49 and prevents retraction of molding member 25 until the carriage is returned to its original starting position where, as shown in Fig. 8, the head 46a of the screw45 is positioned in advance of the front end ofthe locking bar 49 and is thus free to move across the guide plate 6 to permit the molding member, 25 to be operated to its retracted position by swingin; movement of the lever 34. The molding member 21 ispreferably punched to provide projections 210 to prevent slippage between this member and the tobacco during the tobacco molding and cigarette forming opera tions. Not only do these projections prevent slippage but also prevent any appreciable shortening inlength orlongitudinal compression of the cylinder of tobacco which would result in difficulty "in operating carriage laterally.-

Having-thus described what We now consider to be the preferred embodiment of this-invention it will ;be understood that various modifications may be resorted to'within the scope and spirit of the ap ended claims.

- Having thus described claimis: I

1. A cigarette-making machine comprising a travellingcarriage provided with a tobacco;molding chamber having front and rear end openings our invention, what we As the carriage co-mand a top filling opening, a guide along which the carriage is movable from a tobacco receiving and molding position at one end of the guide to a cigarette-forming position at or adjacent the op posite end of the guide,a stationary plunger and i a stationary molding member secured together in aligmnent so that the molding member extends.

through the end openings and molding chamber of the carriage when the latter is in its tobacco receiving and molding position, and is replaced by the plunger when the carriage isshifted to its cigarette-forming position, a movable molding member arranged in said chamber and presenting a semi-circular molding surface which is opposed to a similar surface of the stationary molding member when said carriage is in said tobacco receiving and molding position, means for moving said movable member toward said stationary member whereby tobacco, previously interposed between said molding members, is compressed into a substantially cylindrical mass, and means for releasably holding a paper cigarette tube to said carriage so that said tube is aligned with the front end opening of the carriage, the arrange: ment being such that, when the carriage is moved to its cigarette forming position subsequent. to the molding of the tobacco within said molding chamber, the fixed molding member passes out of the molding chamber through the front end opening and is replaced by the plunger, the lead 7 end of which prevents any lateral movement of the cylinder of tobacco while the tube isbeing drawn over said cylinderas the carriage is moved from its initial position to the end of the first half of the operating cycle. I s

2. A cigarette-making machine as set forth in claim l, in which the means for holding the pasaid clamping lever exerts clamping pressure ings and atop filling opening, a guide plate along which the'carriage is movable from a tobacco receiving and molding position at one end of the guide to a cigaretteforming position at or adjacent the opposite end of the guide, a locking bar and a cam track arranged on said guide plate, a stationary plunger anda stationary molding member secured'together in alignment so that the molding member extends through the end openings and the molding chamber of the carriage when the latter is in its tobacco receiving and molding position, said molding member being replaced by the plunger when the carriage is shifted to its cigarette forming position, a movable molding member arranged in said chamber and presenting a semi-circular molding surface which is opposed to a similar surfaceof the stationary molding member when said carriage is in i 1 'said tobacco receiving and molding position, a

, bell crank lever pivoted to said carriage, conper cigarette tube to the carriag comprises a H cylindrical neck extension surrounding the front end opening of the molding chamber andiadapted to receive thereon one end of thecig'arette tube and means for clamping said cigarette tube to said neck extension during the time that the carriage is being drawn over said plunger.

3. A cigarette-making machine as set forth in 7 claim 1, in which the means for moving said movable molding member relative to said stationary member is operative only when the carriage is in its tobacco receiving and molding position, said means being locked against operation in all other positions of the carriage.

4. A cigarette-making machine as set forth in claim 1, including means whereby said carriage is locked in its tobacco receiving and moldin position until said movable moldng member is moved toward said stationary member, the locking means thereupon permitting said carriage to be shifted to its cigarette-forming position but preventing retraction of said movable molding member until the carriage is again returned to its cigarette receiving and molding position.

5. A cigarette-making machine as set forth in claim 1, in which the means for moving said movable molding member comprises a leverpiv" oted to said carriage and a link connection between said lever and said movable molding member.

6. A cigarette-making machine as set forth in claim 1, in which the means for holding the paper cigarette tube to said carriage comprises a neck extension .fitted into one ,end of said tube, a pivotedclamping leveradapted to be swung from an inoperative position out of contact with said paper tube to an operative position in which "necting means securing said lever to said movable molding member whereby said movable molding member is moved toward said stationary molding member when the lever is swung in one direction and is retracted from said stationary molding member when the lever is swung in the opposite direction, the connection between said lever and said movable molding member including a part which cooperates with said locking bar to prevent movement of the movable molding member toward or away from the stationary molding member except when said carriage is in its tobacco receiving and molding position, the aforesaid end' of said connection also serving to cooperate with said locking bar to prevent retraction of said movable molding member from said stationary molding member when the carriage has been shifted from its tobacco receiving and molding position after advancement of the movable molding member toward the stationary molding member, the arrangement being such that tobacco introduced into said chamber when the carriag is in its tobacco receiving and. molding position is molded into a cylindrical mass by.

operating said lever to move the movable molding member toward the stationary molding member,- the aforesaid part of the connection be- Y tween the lever and the movable molding member beingthus shifted relatively to said locking bar to permit shifting of the carriage from the tobacco receiving and molding position to the 1 cigarette forming position, the aforesaid part of said connection between the lever and the movable molding member then cooperating with'said locking bar to prevent'retraction of the movable molding member until the carriage is returned to its tobacco receiving and molding position.

JOSEPH v. REID. PAUL BICHER. 

